Sara Champlin, a BLC Madison student, spent her summer wandering the gorgeous Hermus River Valley as the photographer for the Archaeological Exploration of Sardis, Turkey. Sardis was the capital of the Lydian Empire and it remained an important city during later phases of Greek and Roman occupation. Sara shared her thoughts on the experience, "My research investigates Greek and Roman material culture, so it was a wonderful opportunity for me to be working at a site with such a rich history of cultural and social interaction. This was my second summer on the project."

A favorite memory? "Experiencing Kamran Ince’s ‘Sardis’ symphony performed by the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra at the Temple of Artemis, in the landscape that inspired it."

Click here for more information about Sardis or its history of excavation. (http://sardisexpedition.org)